For more than a month, roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration(TSA) agents have been reporting to airports across the country without receiving a paycheck. It is the third funding lapse in a year, and it is arriving during one of the busiest travel periods on the calendar. Spring break crowds are already filling terminals, and the combination of heavy passenger volume and strained staffing is pushing wait times at some airports well past an hour.
Travelers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport recently reported waiting up to two hours in security lines. Passengers flying out of New Orleans and Austin were advised to arrive as much as three hours before departure. Many other airports reported conditions closer to normal, creating an unpredictable patchwork that makes planning a flight considerably more stressful than usual.
The shutdown started February 14 and shows no sign of ending
The current funding lapse began February 14 and affects only the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees TSA. It follows a 43-day government-wide shutdown late last year that ended only after TSA officers and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers began missing shifts in large enough numbers to disrupt travel nationwide. Union leaders say many workers took second jobs during that period just to cover basic expenses.
At least 366 TSA agents have quit since the current shutdown began, according to Homeland Security. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents most airport security screeners, says absences are climbing as workers struggle to cover costs like gas and childcare while continuing to show up without compensation. Federal employees are guaranteed back pay once a shutdown ends under a 2019 law, but that guarantee does little to help someone who cannot afford groceries today.
Congress is stuck on immigration, not airport security
The stalemate in Washington has almost nothing to do with airline travel. Republicans want full funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats are demanding immigration reform provisions be included in any funding deal, pointing to the fatal shootings of two people in Minneapolis earlier this year as justification. Without an agreement on those broader terms, TSA workers remain caught in the middle.
Both parties have directed blame at the other with considerable volume and little apparent urgency. Republican lawmakers have called on Democrats to stop holding TSA agents hostage over immigration policy. Democrats have accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate and have attempted to advance standalone legislation to restore worker pay, without success. Several bills that would guarantee federal employee salaries during future shutdowns, including the Shutdown Fairness Act and the Keep America Flying Act, have been proposed but none are moving forward.
How travelers can protect themselves right now
With conditions shifting unpredictably from airport to airport and even hour to hour, travel experts say monitoring wait times has become a necessary step before any departure. TSA’s own MyTSA mobile app may not reflect accurate wait times during the shutdown since the agency is not actively maintaining it. Third-party tracking tools that rely on publicly available government data face the same limitation.
The most reliable option is checking individual airport websites and social media accounts directly, particularly on the platform X, where many airports have been posting real-time updates. Conditions can change quickly enough that checking once is not sufficient. Checking early and often, and building extra time into any travel plan, is the most practical approach available right now.
Travel security experts recommend flying earlier in the day when possible, since morning departures leave more room to rebook or adjust plans if something goes wrong. Travelers who arrive to find long lines are advised to ask checkpoint staff directly about wait times and whether any expedited options are available. Contacting the airline by phone, app or social media about rebooking is worth doing sooner rather than later.
For TSA workers, the options are considerably more limited. With Congress heading into its Easter recess and no deal in sight, another missed paycheck appears to be coming.
